Policies

Charging and Remissions Policy

Lees Brook Community School is committed to a free school education for all.

Our aim is to:

• Ensure that education in school is free.

• Ensure that activities offered wholly or mainly during normal school teaching time should be available to all students regardless of their parents’ ability or willingness to help meet the cost.

• Ensure that that there is no statutory requirement to charge for any form of education but the school has the discretion to charge for optional activities provided wholly or mainly out of school hours.

• Ensure that the school has the right to invite voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school or in support of activities organised by the school, whether during or outside school hours.

PRACTICES

With the aforementioned aim in mind, it is the Policy of Lees Brook Community School:

• To continue to request voluntary contributions from parents towards activities organised by the school during school hours;

• The Governors of the school are willing to support the funding of certain activities. Subsidies may be available for children whose parents are unwilling or unable to make a voluntary contribution.

• If insufficient voluntary contributions are forthcoming for an activity and insufficient subsides are available, then that activity will be cancelled

• Optional trips wholly or mainly outside school hours will be charged at full cost.

These visits will not proceed where full costs are not met by all those who wish to partake in the activity. Board/lodging and travel costs on residential trips

will be charged to those parents in receipt of Family Credit, Job Seekers

Allowance or Income Support. These families will be expected to pay a contribution. At present anything in excess of £55 total cost of the visit. This

fixed contribution/subsidy by the school will be set annually in April prior to any planned visits. Parents can make a Welfare Grant Application through the

Journey Leader. School records of current students entitled to Free School Meals acts as a source of confirmation of entitlement; approval is ascertained

by the nominated member of the Leadership Group.

• The school may invite voluntary contributions towards the cost of ingredients, materials and equipment where parents have expressed the wish to have the

finished product.

• This school may make charges for breakages and damage to property including window breakage and cost for graffiti removal.

Individual Instrumental Tuition

The cost for providing any instrumental tuition not part of normal LA peripatetic Provision will be charged to the student.

Remissions

• Where the parents of a student are in receipt of income support or family credit, the Governing Body will offer to remit in full the cost of full board and

lodging for any residential activity which is deemed to take place in school hours or where it forms part of syllabus for the National Curriculum.

• The Governing Body may wish to remit in full or in part the cost of other activities for particular groups of parents, for example, in the case of family

hardship. When arranging a chargeable activity such parents will be invited in confidence for the remission of charges in full or in part. Authorisation for such

remission will be made by the Headteacher in consultation with the Chair of Governors.